Diocese of Toledo, Ohio

Browsing From the Pastor

March 26th/27th Bulletin Article

Dear Friends,  

            I have been informed that yet again people are posing as and impersonating me, sending emails and text messages asking “for a favor,” namely sending money and/or gift cards. As a reminder, I will never send an email or text asking for money or gift cards. If you get such communication, block the sender and delete the message; do not click on any link or attachment. If I need something, it will be for the parish, and I will probably ask you in person. Thank you to everyone who has alerted me to the recent round of these messages, and I urge all of you, please do not respond to these scams!

            For the Lenten Soup Suppers, the theme has been “Seven Deadly Sins & Seven Lively Virtues.” The title is a riff off a video presentation from Bishop Robert Barron, but with my own twist on the topic. The “deadly sins” have captured the imagination throughout the centuries, depicted in various media, including cinema, but most notably in the Purgatorio of the Divine Comedy by the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri. The deadly sins are more properly referred to as the “capital sins.” Capital comes from the Latin word capita, which means “head.” We sometimes refer to hats as “caps,” because they are worn on the head. These deadly sins are called capital sins because these sins bring about other sins; other sins fall underneath them.

            The capital sins, the deadly sins are pride, envy, wrath, sloth, avarice (greed), gluttony, and lust. There is a “hierarchy” (or a “lower-archy” as C.S. Lewis coined the word in his book The Screwtape Letters) of these sins, and I have listed the order above. Pride is the worst, the most pernicious; it is the sin that gives birth to all other sins. Gluttony and lust, while still deadly, are not as deadly as pride. Furthermore, these are sometimes called vices. Vices are, simply speaking, sins that have become habitual, which means they have become second nature. Another simple distinction should be made: these sins are not automatically mortal sins, although we should never take these sins (or any sin) lightly.

            I mentioned that Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, and within it, Purgatorio. Dante envisions Purgatory as a mountain with seven stories or terraces, each of which correspond to the deadly and capital sins. The terrace of pride is at the bottom of the mountain with lust towards the top of the mountain; earthly paradise, not the same as heavenly paradise, is at the very top of the mountain. Depending on which terrace a person may find himself, he will undergo some practice or discipline that forces him to act contrary to the vice of that terrace. For example, the prideful are weighed down with their faces to the ground by the huge boulder in order for them to learn humility. It is not a place of punishment as it is a place of learning to properly order our love. Dante envisions a person as weighed down by their vices, with pride weighing one down the most, but as one ascends the mountain of Purgatory, he becomes lighter and capable of moving more freely. Purgatory allows for one to be freed by the weight of sin and prepares one to fly into the Heavens—again this is not part of the Deposit of Faith, but simply the artistic rendering of one person.

            Our fascination is usually inclined toward the negative: the deadly sins. Nevertheless, our desire and fascination ought to be directed toward the virtues (the irony here is that I’ve spent most of this column discussing the capital sins). Next week, I will discuss more about virtue and why they allow us to live well and to become the best versions of ourselves.

            Lastly, as the capital sins have been the focus today, I simply want to invite and encourage you to go to Confession in this season of 40 Days. It’s the best way to express your contrition to God and the Church, unload your burdens, be strengthened in virtue, and receive and experience God’s unfathomable mercy.

            We are saints under construction, rejecting sin and choosing to live in the light of Christ. Have a great week!

 

In Christ,

Fr. Matt

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